OTTAWA — At the beginning of Hamlet, the prince is unhappy that his uncle has married his mother and taken over the kingdom so soon after the death of Hamlet's father, the king.

"The funeral bak'd-meats did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables," he jokes.

That is the way of things. Even as Jack Layton's flag-draped casket was carried on the shoulders of eight Mounties toward his widow on Parliament Hill on Wednesday, New Democrats on the Hill had to turn their thoughts to who will lead the party.

The race began Tuesday when someone let it be known that NDP president Brian Topp wants the job.

Topp is a formidable candidate, with deep roots in the party, excellent French and the ability to argue that he is poised to carry on with Layton's vision. He was one of the architects of the "project" that transformed the NDP from an advocacy party to a fearsome electoral machine.

He has strong ties with the United Steelworkers, who have long served as a loyal source of cash and labour for the NDP. He worked closely for years with Jack's Parliament Hill team, and also with Raymond Guardia, Jack's Quebec adviser, the man behind the Orange Crush.

So Topp may win the convention in snowy Ottawa in January, but it is no sure thing, because he is not a politician, and hasn't spent years kissing babies and prevaricating in front of microphones.

The same thing goes for Anne McGrath, Layton's chief of staff, who is being urged to run by the NDP's women's caucus.

She is better on TV than Topp. On Monday she was on air all day — strong, emotional and poised — even though she was mourning her good friend.

McGrath is respected across party lines for her calm professionalism. Like Topp, she helped negotiate the coalition deal, is bilingual and can count on labour support as a former CUPE director.

She would benefit from the feeling that it's time to have a woman lead the party, although supporters must wrestle with the fact that in 1984 she ran for the Communist Party of Canada, which the Conservatives likely would enjoy pointing out to voters.

Thomas Mulcair has to deal with a past that might be more worrisome to NDPers: he's a former Liberal. A former minister in Jean Charest's government, he gave the NDP a crucial beachhead when he won a Montreal byelection in 2007. He can scrum eloquently all day in both languages, and his daily appearances on Quebec TV screens built the brand there.

Mulcair plays hard and isn't afraid to go into the corners. MPs in other parties see him as a vicious snake, which is fine, but he also has problems on his own bench.

Mulcair lost a backroom caucus showdown with B.C. MP Libby Davies last year, and while his colleagues are glad he's on their team, they might not want him as coach. His doesn't have labour backing and his style of Montreal street politics might not go down well with NDP rank and file, who are accustomed to the gentler ways of United Church basements.

Peter Julian, MP for New Westminster, would do better with the grassroots, particularly those on the left wing and left coast. Julian, who speaks excellent French, is said to be keen to run. He can count on the energetic support of peace and anti-globalization activists, but would likely move the party left, which is not where the voters are.

Everybody in the party likes Ottawa's Paul Dewar. He's the son of beloved former Ottawa mayor Marion Dewar, and his brother was chief of staff to Manitoba Premier Gary Doer, so he has the right connections, and comes across as earnest and thoughtful.

But Dewar would need to work on his French. Whatever anyone in English Canada thinks, the next leader must speak to Quebecers in their mother tongue. That rules out Davies, Doer and Dartmouth MP Robert Chisholm.

Toronto's Peggy Nash would be formidable, with her good French and years of experience in the labour movement, but she is expected to stay out for family reasons.

Some supporters are calling on Olivia Chow to run, and if anyone could overcome a lack of French, it would be her.

Or it could be someone from outside the party. The NDP leadership, once a booby prize, is now a glittering trophy, since the leader has a shot at becoming prime minister.

Whoever wins can count on not-so-tender treatment from the Tory team that so efficiently shredded Stephane Dion and Michael Ignatieff, and tough challenges keeping the caucus united and the message on target.

Whatever the result, one thing is certain: the leadership convention won't produce another Jack Layton.

As Hamlet said of his father: "He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again."

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